Passage:
"But this stage didn't last long. My
grandfather's mind, locked In its graveyard spiral, accelerated as it hurtled
towards destruction, and three days later he started cooing like a baby and the
next he started soiling himself. At that point , when there was almost nothing
left of him, God allowed Lefty Stephanides to remain another three months,
until the winter of 1979" (268-269).
What was interesting/important:
This passage is interesting to me because it
perfectly exemplifies the beauty of life and the inevitable consequence of
life; death. In this short passage, Eugenides shows how in the presence of
certain illnesses, the body digresses into a stage that is similar to that of
an infant. One day your walking your granddaughter to the pond and the next
moment, you start "cooing like a baby" and "soiling
yourself". As we age our bodies and minds break down. It's terrifying that
everyone has the possibility of losing their mind. That once your mind is
completely broken down your body can't function which sent Lefty into a
"graveyard spiral". A spiral is formulaic starting off slow
eventually getting faster. This exemplifies how quickly Lefty's mind was
destroyed resulting in his childlike behavior. Additionally, the theme of fate
comes up with the mention of "God". That it was a higher force that
decided how much longer Lefty should live. All in all, life is unpredictable
because death, for the most part, is unpredictable. Like flowers and bees, the
body and mind will always be dependent on each other for survival.
Personal Story:
Although I wasn't there for the entire journey I
did watch my Nana enter her own spiral. One day she's baking cookies, the next
she's on an oxygen machine 24/7. However, my nana never lost her stubbornness
as an old mind, never listening to the doctors who said that she no longer
should be putting salt on her food. Sometimes, if you left her alone in the
kitchen you might find a box of saltine crackers missing. Eventually, my mother
had to treat her mother like a infant by placing the salt shakers on the
highest shelf playing dumb when she was questioned where they were. It really
was a strange experience watching someone you love and know crumble before you.
Part of me wanted to just listen to the same questions over and over again.
However, part of me wanted to run away, back to the days of my own childhood.
When I was the one who had to be babysat, not my nana.
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